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They'll have a reunion of former Cy Young Award winners beginning Tuesday night at AT&T Park. Oh, and Josh Johnson is invited too.

San Francisco Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum, who won the Cy Young Award in 2008-09, faces Johnson, returning from right triceps inflammation, Tuesday night. Lincecum owns a 3-5 record and a 5.12 ERA.

R.A. Dickey, the defending National League Cy winner as a member of New York Mets, goes against Barry Zito, the 2002 Cy winner when he was across the bay with the Oakland A's.

Dickey is 4-7 with a 5.18 ERA, while Zito is 4-3 with a 3.88 ERA.

This is not the same as Juan Marichal, Warren Spahn and Sandy Koufax.

Combined the Sigh threesome has a 11-15 won-lost record in 34 starts this season with a 4.53 ERA.

While the Jays sit dead last in the American League East in this all-in year -- nine games below .500 -- they are meeting the struggling World Series champions at a good time.

The Giants dropped five of six against the Oakland A's and the St. Louis Cardinals before winning the final game of their trip Sunday at Busch Stadium, thanks to ex-Jay Chad Gaudin, a reliever making a spot start due to a Saturday doubleheader.

Manager Bruce Bochy's team has struggled on the road (10-17, versus 20-10 at home) due to the starting rotation which has a 5.21 road ERA, 29th of 30 teams.

Ryan Vogelsong (6.75 ERA), Matt Cain (6.27) and Lincecum (5.67) are amongst the bottom nine in ERA for NL pitchers who have pitched at least 20 road innings. Zito (10.19) would be the worst but he has pitched only 172/3 innings in four road starts.

Still, San Francisco sits second with a 30-27 record, 21/2 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks. Vogelsong is on the disabled list and Mike Kickham was returned to the minors.

Coming off a 5.18 ERA last year and 5.12 mark this season, if the Giants added another starter they could return Lincecum to the bullpen.

In the 2012 postseason, Lincecum was dominant out of the bullpen as the Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Division Series, winning the final three on the road after losing two at home; beat St. Louis in Game 7 of the NLCS and swept the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.

In five post-season relief appearances, he worked 13 innings allowing three hits, two walks, striking out 17.

Lincecum faced the Jays at AT&T his rookie year in 2007 when he allowed seven runs on seven hits and four walks in a 7-4 loss to the Jays.

In that game, Blue Jays first baseman Howie Clark, right fielder Matt Stairs, second baseman Aaron Hill and centre fielder Alex Rios all had either two hits or two RBIs.

That winter as Barry Bonds retired, the Giants and the Jays discussed a Lincecum-Rios deal, which was knocked by both Jays fans and Giants loyalists.

BLUE JAYS AT GIANTS

Starting pitchers

TUESDAY 10:05 p.m. RHP Josh Johnson vs. RHP Tim Lincecum

WEDNESDAY 3:45 p.m. RHP R.A. Dickey vs. LHP Barry Zito

ELLIOTT'S TAKE

The Jays will see a much different Giants team than the one which visited the Rogers Centre in mid-May playing as if it was on turf for the first time. The Giants were outscored 21-9 in the two-game set, making four errors leading to eight unearned runs. Melky Cabrera was 5-for-8 against his former team at the Rogers Centre and received cheers. It will be a different reception in San Fran after the Giants had to win the World Series without him.

PREDICTION

The Giants have the pitching advantage in both games, not that Tim Lincecum is pitching that well, but it's Josh Johnson's first start since April 21. If the Giants win Tuesday night it's a San Francisco sweep.

GIANTS WHO'S HOT

SS Brandon Crawford is batting .349 (32-for-92) in his last 25 games with seven doubles and 10 RBIs.

RF Hunter Pence is hitting .322 (38-for-118) with 12 doubles, a triple, five homers, 16 RBIs and a .938 OPS after hitting .259 in April.

C Buster Posey was 4-for-4 on Sunday, breaking out of a 2-for-20 slump. He's hitting .356 (37-for-104) at AT&T Park.

GIANTS WHO'S COLD

Gregor Blanco is hitting .132 (5-for-38) in his last 11 games.

C Guillermo Quiroz, the former Blue Jays catcher of the future, has two hits in his last 25 at-bats (.080). Quiroz has started 79 games since 2004 when he made his major-league debut with the Jays.

Brandon Belt has six hits in his past 34 at-bats (.176) with four RBIs.

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Giants, the 2012 champions, hot at home, cool on road

They'll have a reunion of former Cy Young Award winners beginning Tuesday night at AT&T Park. Oh, and Josh Johnson is invited too.

San Francisco Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum, who won the Cy Young Award in 2008-09, faces Johnson, returning from right triceps inflammation, Tuesday night. Lincecum owns a 3-5 record and a 5.12 ERA.